The NBA hoped the story of Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals would be the on-court battle between the Warriors and Toronto Raptors. Unfortuately, a different kind of show broke out than the one Steph Curry put on during the first quarter at Oracle Arena.
A ref show.
The zebras struggled mightily during the first half, hitting a number of players on both sides with some questionable calls.
First, there was a missed goaltending call when Serge Ibaka clearly blocked DeMarcus Cousins' layup attempt after it hit the backboard.
This was so clearly a goaltending. Refs missed it pic.twitter.com/XOrdHzm311— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) June 6, 2019
Sports
Oof.
The poor whistles continued throughout the first half.
There was this charge call on Kawhi Leonard, which the NBA Referees account admitted should have been a block.
Q2 6:28 - During a fast break, defenders attempting to take a charge must be out of the restricted area. Green's left foot is still slightly inside the restricted area on this play, and a blocking foul should have been called. #RefWatchParty @NBAOfficial pic.twitter.com/YdyIvGlLjF— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) June 6, 2019
Then, Quinn Cook was called for an offensive foul for this.
This is a suboptimal foul call on Cook. pic.twitter.com/PCq0fVnTIv— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) June 6, 2019
But don't worry, the refs made up for it with this iffy charge call on Leonard.
Makeup calls make it worse pic.twitter.com/VD3vbCJT6H— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) June 6, 2019
Needless to say, the viewing public wasn't thrilled with the ref show.
Refs tonight are incompetent. Marc Davis being the lead ref in a Finals game is an absolute joke.— Bonta Hill (@BontaHill) June 6, 2019
Raps up 60-52 at the half. The refs suck all the way around, yes.— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) June 6, 2019
These refs are bad.
Both sides.
But they are bad. pic.twitter.com/Tx5bAggAON— The 4-Point Play Podcast (@The_4PointPlay) June 6, 2019
In Klay Thompson's absence the refs are not stepping up.— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) June 6, 2019
Refs handing out offensive fouls pic.twitter.com/Tg3K9EyBX7— The Rush (@therushyahoo) June 6, 2019
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Hopefully, the whistles calm down in the second half.
